This bottle was looking at me for a long time, not sure why I kept passing it up. Lets just say blueberry, blackberry come the closest. I wouldnt at this point decant at all.

We really liked this easy to drink shiraz, maybe are expectations were low. Either way it was enjoyed. Not going to put a rating on it, probably hard to find now. But dont let bottles go to waste wating on the perfect moment to open. We got lucky on this one, so dig around and pull out that bottle you saved. Cheers

2009 Sea Smoke Gratis Chardonnay

This has been a suprise! Came in the mail as a former club member. Why was I a member, Pinot of course. But wow is this an incredible Chard. Love the color nice medium yellow, great nose, not overly oaky at all. Just right. The acidity is low, the fruit is great. I have to say we loved drinking this wine.

OK, Sea Smoke known for Pinot. This Chard is a home run. The sad part is, its not for sale. Nope. Hence the name Gratis, so... Get a membership, go to Sea Smoke and search this one out.

On my scale of of gotta own and love to drink, a full 9 out of 10 here.

Short review here. I received 3 bottles of wine fomr Moulin de ene. A French winery, distributed out of Napa. The wine showed up oout of the blue so I dont know a lot about them yet.

We tasted the first wine called Zanzibar, a chardonnay. Very light and crisp, not at like a big oaky Napa style chard. Sitting on the patio this was easy to enjoy. The nose was light, acidity almost not present. Some lingering tannin helped. It scored about 12 on my scale, between all the tasters, neighbor Polo, his wife Maria and my wife Nancy it ranged from 11 to 13 points. Once I get some prices on it I will fill in some blanks.

Hey check this out, awesome winery in the San Diegos North County. The cool Cedros District in Solana Beach is home to Carruth Winery. Adam Carruth has brought his wine making skill to his own location in Solana Beach. Before you ask the grapes do not come from San Diego. Adam brings grapes from some Napa, Sonoma, Paso Robles and creates an incredible array of wines from a great Lake County Sauvignon Blanc to a Paso Robles Petite Sirah.

Nancy and found this place cruising the coast a few weeks ago and find ourselves going back. This Sunday we enjoyed not only a great wine tasting but Adam was dipping into the barrels with the Wine Theif. Nothing like a barrel tasting. We also did some blending that was a lot of fun.

The 2008 Petite Sirah was a big hit with me. Dark bold Sirah, not matter how you spell it. A real teeth stainer! Tannins are robust but just where you need them. Color and Appearance are great, Aroma could be a bit more balanced overall experience is great. This wine a 16 pointer on the scale

Woo Hoo, here we go. From this point forward expect a bit of a rating scale. I am using a modified version of the scale developed at UC Davis. I know what your thinking, how can improve on what some professors came up with. Well drinking wine is not science. Making it wine is not totally all science. So there needs to be room for those intangibles.

Below is the result of my scale when you see a number from 1 to 20, here is what I am saying

1-5 Just plain undrinkable, real crap6-8 Maybe a box wine9-12 Good enough to bottle but with noticeable issues (daily drinker or end of the night bottle)13-16 Wine that is good no issues all points are hit (share with friends and not worry about price, generally)17-20 Must be an outstanding representative of the varietal (or I just love it!)

Its not perfect, just a refrence. So wineries dont go off on me if I give you a low score. Generally if I rate it at all in means I liked it at some level.

OK OK, I know its been a while since the last update. I need to make a living you know. But this is something you need try.

So, I received two bottles of wine gratis from Walker Family Vinyards. Both wines are 2008 from the Santa Barbara area of Santa Maria. Those of you who know me, know I don't post a review if I don't l like it. I like this wine, both are easy to drink, and represent the varietal well.

The Chardonnay had a beautiful golden color, bright and lively. When I took out of the cooler it was a bit too cold. It was nice to drink but just too cold. After the glass warmed a bit the flavors really came around. The predominate flavor noticed here was of vanilla. It was really a nice treat with the cheese and crackers we had. Using a new scale out of 20 I gave this a 14. Here is a bit on the scale The Pinot Noir was better than expected and a true joy to drink. The nose was light, fruits and a smidge of earth tones. The color was a medium redish color. The flavor of strawberry comes to mind most, making for a soft fruit and nose. It opened up well from the bottle and contiued to drink fine through out. This is definitely a great region for pinot noir and Walker produced a nice one. This wine on the new scale hit 16 on the scale. Not quite outstanding, but will be in on the menu in nicer restaurants and be a great pick at dinner with friends. Its in the mid $30 range and one I will keep in the house.

OK gang this is one big bottle of wine! The deep dark red is just awesome, the big dark, dark black berry, a bit of anise and crazy long tannic finish are really something. This is not for the faint of heart, this is for that person that really like BIG CABS. Sure you could open this up in the morning, decant it, drink with dinner. That could take a bit of the edge off. Maybe lay it down a few years, but who can wait.

I suggest a big piece of meat, maybe a vinturi to take some edge off.But the balance is so good its really worth drinking as it is right now. Its about $60 as a club member, which I strongly suggest.

Yep, this was a great bottle of wine. It came to my wife and I at the end of the evening. Walked in the cellar and pulled out this bottle. I wasnt sure where it came from, I didnt recall buying it. n

What we found was a great ruby red color with a beautiful nose and flavor much like cherry liquor, not hot but had that flavor. The tannins were soft and pretty easy to drink, filling the mouth with flavor and balance. While the ever so soft spice made you know this was pinot.

I have to say we both loved this bottle. So I hit theweb to find the price, and found this bad boy to be around $75 on average some lower some higher. So this is playing in the uperside of pinot's ville. But was awesome. I would put this into the mid 90s on a rating.

How about this, small productions wines at a reasonable price, that are enjoyable to drink. James David Cellars Syrah.

I was fortunate enough to receive two bottles of 2005 Syrah from James David Cellars. The first is the Central Coast Syrah priced at $21. 350 cases. This was bottled in May of 2009 so perhaps needed to settle in the bottle a bit. I nly say that as there was a hint of green, that disapated with time open. Its a deep dark red, with a slight cherry aroma on the nose. The first taste I got a berry from cherry to boysenberry and just a hint of green apple on the finish. Not a heavy long lasting tannin on the finish, just an easy to drink wine. The balance on the fruit against the acid was great. Making for nice drinking wine. I would let this sit for a while, see what characters come out of the fruit.

The 2005 Eagle Point Ranch Mendocino at $24 120 cases. is also priced great. Much like the first, but the next step forward. Good dark color, the nose pops a bit more with a moss and spice, The fruit is bigger and darker more blackberry. and the tannin on the finish last longer and is more present.

Either bottle would make a great addition to your summer ending events with friends!

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West Coast Wino

Jeff

New and improved site should be coming soon. Its been a while I know! But the real job, you know the one that pays the bills and will get our daughter through college....
OK the summer is here and I am looking at nice warm weather wines. Typically you are expecting big reds, I know. Look for some crisp white wines like Pomelo Sauvignon Blanc, and Cosenting Pinot Grigio to appear soon!
Today I am heading over to Caruth Winery in Solana Beach Ca. Looking forward to some good stuff
Cheers, Jeff